(Principles are basic truths that, when applied, cause success to come to you easier and quicker.)

 

The word retirement is one which evokes a mixed bag of reactions. To previous generations it meant a time of rest and reward for a life of work and contribution. Sort of a ‘now for me’ period. For many reasons that picture is no longer the norm.

This S3MC is not about debating the right-ness/wrong-ness of the changes that have and are occurring, it’s about what you can do about transitioning from the main way you’ve lived and worked to . . . something different. Some thoughts:

You’ve been winning. Continuing to win in retirement will look different. But you will still want to win.

You probably spent a lot of your working career studying and learning. You may also in retirement, but you will benefit even more when you treat it as a time of discovery. Discovery is softer and uplifting. For instance, try discovering what your new wins look like rather than working on them. Less linear, more intuitive.

Moving toward something is healthier than moving away from. But being pulled by something is healthier yet. Passion pulls. Discovering your passions is a nice approach.

Be careful of bucket lists. They may be based on what you felt you were missing back when you ‘had to work’ and may not be reflective of who you have become. Trying to fill in a bunch of ‘missings’ may seem like a towards, but you will want to test to see if that is so.

Part of retirement is letting go. Which creates space to fill with what you really want now. Letting go is easier than you may think.

 

Coaching Point: Does retiring from your highly successful life feel scary or doubt-filled or energizing?

 

Copyright 2015 Steve Straus. All rights reserved.